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NFL Fun Facts

By Times staff

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 7, 2001

Number of division championships clinched with two weeks remaining in the 2000 season.

Worst opening-day winning percentage (Carolina, 1-5).

Percentage of games won in overtime by teams that lost the OT coin flip.

2000 winning percentage of Redskins' 2001 opponents (easiest schedule in the NFL).

Percentage of games won in overtime by teams that won the OT coin flip.

2000 winning percentage of Vikings' 2001 opponents (toughest in the NFL).

Best regular-season winning percentage over the past 10 years (San Francisco, 105-55).

Best September winning percentage over the last 10 years (Miami, 26-9).

Best opening-day winning percentage (Jacksonville, 5-1).

Number of different teams that have played in the last three Super Bowls.

Pounds, weight of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Consecutive years the NFC Central has sent more than one team to the playoffs, the longest streak in the NFL and third longest of all time (NFC West, 11, 1982-92).

Percent of opening-day rosters made up of players from Florida, Texas or California.

Years Monday Night Football has been on the air, the longest continuously running prime-time entertainment series.

Kansas City's takeaway/giveaway ratio over the past five years, best in the NFL.

Number of seasons Pat Summerall has played or broadcast NFL football.

Consecutive weeks the Miami Dolphins have been at .500 or above, the longest streak in the league.

Number of teams since 1978 that went to the playoffs after losing their season openers (out of 314).

Quarterback rating of Brian Griese, best in the NFL last season.

Rushing TDs by Emmitt Smith, most in NFL history.

Number of teams since 1978 that went to the playoffs after winning their season openers (out of 314).

Shortest 2001 road trip (N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia, round trip, Aug. 30).

Most rushing yards on opening day (O.J. Simpson, Buffalo vs. New England, 1973).

Consecutive games since San Francisco has been shut out, an NFL record.

Yards needed by Emmitt Smith to pass Walter Payton (16,726) as the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

Yards needed by Brett Favre to become the first to pass for 3,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons.

Passing yards needed by Vinny Testaverde to pass Joe Montana (40,551) into fifth all-time.

Longest road trip (Miami at Seattle, round trip, Oct. 28).

Total air miles traveled for preseason and regular-season games by San Francisco, most in the NFL.

Hours of NFL programming that will be broadcast to 200 countries in 2001.

Number of high school football players in the 1999-2000 school year.

News and Notes:

New stadiums will open in two cities this year, Denver and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, seating at 65,000-seat Heinz Field begins only 50 feet from the field, and end zone seats are just 8 feet off the ground. Denver's new 76,000-seat Invesco Field at Mile High will debut on Monday Night Football when the Broncos host the New York Giants. The stadium will include "Bucky," the 1,600-pound, 27-foot-tall fiberglass white horse that appeared at the former Mile High Stadium for 26 years.

New stadium construction continues in Seattle, New England, Houston and Detroit (for the 2002 season); renovations are in the works in Green Bay and Chicago, and a new stadium (is set for) Philadelphia (for 2003 openings), and a new 78,000-seat stadium in Arizona is scheduled to open in 2004.

154 players from Florida were on NFL opening-day rosters last season, third behind only California (208) and Texas (167).

Eddie George's No. 27 Tennessee Titans jersey is the highest selling among NFL players, followed by those of Donovan McNabb, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James and Tampa Bay's Keyshawn Johnson.

Despite their recent struggles, the Dallas Cowboys continue to sell more merchandise than any other team, followed by Tennessee, Minnesota and St. Louis. Tampa Bay was ninth last year, just ahead of the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. Three NFL franchises have had the same ownership structure for more than 75 years: Chicago Bears (Halas, 1920), Green Bay Packers (publicly owned, 1922) and the New York Giants (Mara, 1925). By contrast, the longest owned MLB team is the Anaheim Angels (Autry, 1960), NBA team is the Washington Wizards (Pollin, 1964) and NHL team is the Chicago Blackhawks (Wirtz, 1954).

With 1,200 rushing yards, Tennessee's Eddie George would become only the second player to rush for 1,200 yards in his first six seasons in the league. The other is Eric Dickerson.

-- NFL

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